Author: Ewang Johnson

Standard Bank has become the first financial institution in Africa to launch TikTok Search Ads. This milestone reflects the bank’s commitment to innovation and its strategy of engaging younger, digitally native audiences through relevant and impactful social platforms.Reaching the Next GenerationTikTok Search Ads allow brands to appear in search results when users actively seek content, creating a powerful intersection between intent and entertainment. By being the first on the continent to adopt this format, Standard Bank showcases its forward-thinking approach to meeting customers where they are.The bank has consistently harnessed technology to make banking more accessible and relatable. This campaign…

Filmmaker Kateryna Gornostai takes us to classrooms all over Ukraine in her latest documentary, as children and teenagers continue their education despite the ongoing Russian aggression. Amid the rubble and air raid sirens, “Timestamp” reveals the unwavering commitment of teachers to convey lifesaving, practical information as well as encouraging joy, beauty and laughter. Kateryna tells us about the reality of filming in an active conflict zone and why the war represents an existential attack on the very notion of Ukrainian identity.  Source link

A low crime rate and a high safety index are now crucial advantages for African countries looking to achieve more wealth, draw in international collaboration, and enhance the standard of living for their people in 2025.Besides maintaining peace and order, these metrics show how stable, resilient, and prepared a country is for sustainable growth.5 Safest Destinations in AfricaA low crime rate has several direct benefits, one of which is the confidence it gives investors. When making financial commitments, both small business owners and big businesses give careful thought to safety.Businesses are more willing to invest, grow, and add employment when…

This week, Paris des Arts takes you to La Villette, Europe’s largest urban park and the site of a world of cultural and sporting activities. We meet choreographer and director Blanca Li, who ran the institution before returning to her artistic pursuits. She talks to us about her many projects, including the “Bal de Paris”, an immersive creation combining dance, music and virtual reality.  Source link

Getty ImagesNudes in Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment were covered up after they were found to contravene a ban on “lasciviousness” in art (Credit: Getty Images)In retrospect, Michelangelo’s fresco got off rather lightly. Not long after Volterra began preserving the modesty of figures in The Last Judgment with strategically positioned drapery, Protestant iconoclasts swept through the Low Countries in 1566 and attacked Antwerp’s cathedral, permanently mutilating a grand altarpiece by Frans Floris, the city’s leading artist. Floris’s fantastical Fall of the Rebel Angels, painted just 12 years earlier, depicts a saint casting out a swarm of grotesque demons. Reformers, convinced that…

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, 12 September, 2025 /African Media Agency (AMA)/ – Djamo Finances, a subsidiary of the Djamo group and a pioneering digital financial services platform in Francophone Africa, has officially obtained its license as a microfinance institution in Côte d’Ivoire, issued by the Ministry of Finance and Budget.This regulatory recognition provides Djamo’s clients with an additional guarantee. The company’s governance has also been strengthened to better support and serve the financial needs of its growing customer base.“Obtaining this license is a key milestone in our mission. It gives us the tools to reinforce customer trust and to become their…

Every once in a while I come across a book that changes the way I look at the world. Dorothy L. Sayers’s The Man Born to Be King was one such book (though technically a play cycle rather than a conventional book). So too were Makoto Fujimura’s Culture Care, and Sandra Glahn’s Nobody’s Mother, and Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. Each of these led to a fundamental shift in my thinking about a particular topic—faith, or history, or even my own family background—or about life in general.Malcolm Foley’s The Anti-Greed Gospel is another such book. Foley, a pastor, historian, and advisor to the president of Baylor University, makes a provocative…

Harlem-based sculptor Kim Dacres brings her raw, unapologetic vision to Europe with “Crossroads Like This”, now on view at the Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery in Paris. Known for transforming discarded tyres into commanding forms, Dacres centres Black, queer and feminine identity in her work, shaping complex narratives of memory, resistance and cultural pride. From her Bronx studio to international acclaim, her voice is redefining what contemporary sculpture can say and who it represents. She spoke to us on arts24. Source link

Olafur Arnalds & Talos – A DawningIcelandic musician/producer Olafur Arnalds has spanned numerous musical styles, including neo-classical, punk rock and TV-and-film scores. A Dawning is an inspired collaboration, a celebration of kindred spirits and a deeply poignant commemoration; Arnalds began working with poetic Irish singer-songwriter Talos (aka Eoin French) when the two met at an independent music festival. However, French fell ill from cancer and died aged just 36, before this album could be completed. These songs undeniably become a meditation on mortality and grief, but they are also essentially shaped by love. Arnalds’ instrumentation is sensitive and unaffectedly heartfelt,…

Africa is rapidly positioning itself as a global hub for green hydrogen production, leveraging its vast renewable energy resources to meet both domestic energy needs and international demand. With over 60% of the world’s best solar resources and significant wind potential, the continent has the natural advantage to produce green hydrogen at globally competitive costs as low as US$1.80/kg by 2030 (IEA).Green hydrogen offers Africa the opportunity to drive industrialisation, decarbonise heavy sectors, and create new export markets, particularly to Europe and Asia where demand is projected to reach over 600 million tonnes annually by 2050. Countries such as South…